Jordans winning hand…

Jordan wasn’t with us; but he kinda was.

Yesterday at 1:32pm we left the CASL tournament site outside of Raleigh, NC. and headed for home. I was tired, my back was a bit sore and Miss was more tired and fighting a bad heel, sore calves, and stuck in the cramped, back seat of the A7. Tay was tired, hungry and a bit stinky too. He had just completed a three game soccer sweep with his Crew teammates and was ready to get something to eat soon. We had over 500 miles to go and settled in for what was sure to be the worst part of this trip; the long, arduous, return trip home.

Surprise, however, was just ahead.

After a few minutes discussing Tay’s games, we celebrated his 17th birthday by watching him down a cuppiecake as quickly as he plays a one touch ball. We’re talking fast. The A7 was in full sprint mode itself as I set the cruise at 83 and turned onto route 540 and headed to the northwest. Miss mentioned that she was going to try to get the poker tournament on her phone, live, from the backseat. I barely heard her over Tay’s music and nodded to her via the mirror. Jordan was at the “final table” at his tournament in Lima, Peru, I thought to myself; what are the chances of Miss getting a live internet feed? About the same, I guessed, as Jordan making it to the final table of 8 players.

A few minutes later Miss had her own winning hand. She giggled as the announcer spoke Portugese and the only word we understood was when he pronounced our son’s name, “Shoorrdon Scotch, Shooorrdon Scotch!” In seconds, Tay had the feed on his iphone and the two of them were zoning in. I, on the other hand, was zoning out. The A7 was not getting my full attention and neither was the road…

“Krit’s are you watching Jordan,” I blurted out as soon as she answered my call from the car. She had no idea. Within seconds she had him live from her laptop and now the car was lit with Portugese from 2 phones competing with Portugese from the A7 speakers too. Miss had forgotten she was tired, hungry, and in need of a bathroom break. Tay had forgotten he was tired, hungry and in need of one too. I had forgotten how to follow “the blue line” navigation guidance from the A7. Miss’s eyes were getting bloodshot and her face matched. I could feel my heart rate rising as slowly the “final table” lost one and then another. Jordan, however was still seated. The table of eight was now down to the table of six.

I called Andrew and told him to tune in on his computer. He responded with his “hush it” and hung up. Translation, he was at the island with his laptop and Jordan & Keturahs dog, Tankinit. They were watching and even put up a few pictures to prove it. Not to be outdone, Krits put out a couple instagrams of Jordan and in a few seconds more of the family was connected. We heard from cousin Natalie in Charlotte and then from cousin Evan in Topeka. The funniest was that once Evan had gotten the live feed he grabbed my sister, and my Mom too. Grandma Marie was watching her first grandson, live from Peru, playing a game she didn’t understand, in a language she didn’t understand, all accomplished with technology that none of us understood. Funny, huh.

After a few hours we were making great time and Jordan was having great success, eventhough you couldn’t tell from looking at him. Dressed in a sweattop, his favorite, comfortable tee shirt, and cloaked behind his aviator shades, you had no idea if he was winning or losing. That was true, until the camera scanned to his pile. His pile was growing. We didn’t know much but we knew that was good.

At one point I got so distracted that I had to pull onto the berm and backup just a pinch to make the right that had somehow snuck up on me. Miss wasn’t too happy. Tay said nothing. Krits was kinda quiet on the phone as she knew enough to know that suddenly the car had grown a bit tense. Once we were back uuderway, all was forgotten and back to the game we went. Hours had gone by in what seemed like only a few minutes. The miles had somehow disappeared too. Suddenly, or so it seemed, we only had 250 to the barn and we still hadn’t stopped once.

We emerged from the tunnel and West Virgina welcomed us. What happened to Virginia I thought outloud. Miss broke out in laughter that was pure hysteria. We laughed till it hurt. We had blazed through an entire state and hadn’t even noticed. We were following Jordan and somehow the car was still on the road. We were lost, not literally lost but lost in the sights and sounds of our son in faraway Peru. We couldn’t believe that we were flying through the mountains, talking to Krits on the car, and watching Jordan playing in Peru from a pair of iphones. I was really grateful for technology. I was really glad that we could connect and I didn’t mind that this technology was between us. I saw the enabling capability like never before.

The final table would soon shrink to two; Jordan was one of them, the other was some Frenchie in a hoodie. We couldn’t believe that our son was in the showdown, but he was. Miss watched the expressive Frenchie and confidently proclaimed that Jordan would rule. The Frenchie was too emotional and Jordan would be too much for him, or so she contended. Right she was.

Jordan won.

When the camera showed Jordan stand up and embrace Keturah we were pretty sure it was over. Pretty sure, but not certain. We kept looking for the table shot so we could see the chip. It seemed like forever but Krits and Tay were already convinced. Finally, they began to interview Jordan and we knew. Jordan had won.

Taylor played the feed that he had gotten from Krits and within minutes of him winning were listening to our Son recounting his winning hand. I was so happy for him and Keturah. And, I was so happy for us. We miss so much of Jordan’s life because he and Keturah live so far away and travel even further away. We miss so much. And yet, here, in one of his shining moments, we were somehow “with him.”

Sure, we weren’t in Lima. FACT. We were in the mountains of WV. We were in North Carolina. We were in Florida. We were in Colorado. We were in Peru. We were in Ohio. We were in Kansas. We were in Missouri (hate to admit it). We were in California. And, as remote as we all were,we were with him. We were with them. We were there in the craziest of ways.We were connected in a way that was unimaginable just a few years removed. We were using technology to connect and I felt it. And, I’ll never forget it.

Somehow, we were with them. Somehow, Jordan won. Somehow, Jordans game had brought us ALL together.

This week, we’ll be together with Jordan, Keturah, Mom, Nick, Krits, Andrew, Tay, Miss, Sister Sue, Leah, Natalie, Elissa, Cammy, Katie, and many more as we gather around the table to share the Thanksgiving meal. And, somehow, I’m going to use this experience to do a better job of “being with” those that will be missing.

Yesterday, Jordan wasn’t with us; but he kinda was. Yesterday, you see, a whole bunch of us connected through Jordans winning hand…